Throughout the progression of the
crisis in Ukraine, the most active anti-Russian policies have come from the
United States and Canada. Until this point Europe has done its best to steer
clear of the economic discussions involving Russia.
European actors have now started
to push for economic sanctions as violence has been escalating as of late in
Eastern-Ukraine. In fact, one of Russia’s most vital economic partners in
Europe has moved towards the imposition of sanctions directed towards Russia.
Germany’s chancellor Angela Merkel stated that, “These economic sanctions will
be much wider-ranging and also more hurtful to business interests”. Berlin
announced on April 14th that Germany has suspended granting licenses
for arms exports to Russia, contradicting a multimillion dollar business deal
that was in the works up until at least April 11th.
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Merkel has also went on the
record saying that, “Berlin’s loyalty to the Western alliance [will] take
precedence over business calculations”. This is extremely significant,
considering the fact that approximately 6,000 German companies do business in
Russia.
France, Europe’s second most
important economic partner with Russia has taken a more neutral approach than
Germany; France’s Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said last month that France
might “envision” sanctions on Europe, but that no decisions would be made until
after the current crisis dissipates.
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Despite France’s hesitation to
take action against Russia, it is important to note the action of Germany, as
this could be the start of a new trend toward European economic sanctions
against Russia.
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